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Faridkot shocker for Cong: Danny in fray as Independent
In Sangrur, infighting leaves party nominee Vijay Inder Singla without much support
Balwant Garg & Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

Faridkot/Sangrur April 9
Less than three weeks to go for voting in Punjab, the Congress is battling fresh dissent in Faridkot and Sangrur Lok Sabha segments.

On the last day of filing of nomination papers on Wednesday, party leader Sukhwinder Singh Danny - who had contested and lost the Faridkot seat in 2009, and was denied the ticket this time -decided to contest as an Independent from this reserved constituency.

In Sangrur, some Congress MLAs have failed to join the party candidate Vijay Inder Singla's campaign, making things difficult for him.

Accompanied by his father, senior Congress leader and former minister Sardool Singh, Danny quietly reached the office of the district returning officer and filed his papers. The move has left many, including Danny's supporters, baffled. In 2009, Danny had lost to SAD's Paramjit Gulshan with a margin of 62,042 votes.

Those close to Danny said he was heart-broken after being denied the ticket this time. Officially, Danny said he was a loyal worker of the Congress. "I have filed papers as an Independent so that in case there was rejection of Congress candidate Joginder Singh's nomination papers, the party can replace me with him," he claimed.

Interestingly, it's not only the Congress which is reeling under dissent in Faridkot. Senior Akali leader and three-time MLA, Sheetal Singh has already filed papers from Faridkot as an Independent, opposing Paramjit Gulshan of the SAD. "I have undertaken considerable work in my constituency. I am confident that people will vote me on the basis of my work," said Sheetal. In Sangrur, Singla is almost working single-handedly round-the clock with three of the five MLAs yet to join his campaign. The situation has arisen due to factionalism in the state Congress unit.

After a gap of many days, Bhadaur MLA Mohammad Sadique reportedly held a meeting of workers at his residence on Tuesday. Lehragaga MLA Rajinder Kaur Bhattal is the only one who is being seen with Singla at party events.

Dhuri MLA Arvind Khanna, Barnala MLA Kewal Singh Dhillon and Mehal Kalan MLA Harchand Kaur Ghanauri have not reportedly participated in Singla's election campaign. While Khanna could not be contacted despite repeated attempts, Dhillon claimed that he had campaigned for Singla a couple of days ago in some villages of Barnala. Harchand Kaur said she was in Mehal Kalan. Area in charge of the Congress for Malerkotla Assembly constituency Razia Sultana has started campaigning for Singla.

Surprise move

• Rahul’s protégé Sukhwinder Singh Danny (pic) had lost the Faridkot seat in 2009. He was denied the ticket this time
• On Wednesday, he filed papers as an Independent from the reserved constituency
• The move has surprised everyone, including Danny's supporters